Stronger measures to protect ozone layer.

Some 110 Governments, meeting in Vienna from 28 November to 7 December, agreed to new commitments to strengthen the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The most significant part of the agreement was the decision by industrialized countries to phase out methyl bromide by the year 2010.

Those countries, which account for some 80 per cent of the worldwide use of methyl bromide, had earlier agreed only to a freeze by 1995, making methyl bromide the most powerful ozone-depleting substance not previously subject to a phaseout. Developing countries, which previously faced no controls at all, agreed to a freeze by 2002 at average 1995-1998 levels.

New and tighter controls will also be introduced on hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which will be mostly phased out by industrialized countries by 2020 instead of 2030. Developing countries, which have not had any HCFC controls before, agreed to a freeze for the year 2016 (on the basis of consumption levels in 2015) and to a phaseout as of 2040. HCFCs are used as a replacement for CFCs, which, although much less dangerous, too deplete the ozone layer.

Methyl bromide was a difficult issue because its use as a fumigant for export commodities and soils for certain crops makes it economically important. Some 70,000 tons are produced every year. A number of countries argued that the remaining scientific, technical and economic uncertainties should be resolved, and substitutes clearly identified before the chemical was controlled. Others argued that alternatives were available for almost all uses, as demonstrated by the Netherlands, which had almost completely phased out its consumption of methyl bromide.

An important contribution to the willingness of developing countries to accept the new commitments was agreement that any new control measures for developing countries would require technology transfers and additional funding from industrialized countries. The multilateral fund that supports projects in developing countries has so far received $438 million since its establishment in 1991. The exact size of contributions to replenish it after 1996 will be discussed at next year's meeting.

"Governments must now maintain the momentum by honouring their commitments to control ozone-depleting chemicals and contribute financing", Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), told delegates on 7 December. "We cannot afford to rest on our laurels. The key is having the political will to prevent short-term economic and social interests from undermining the long-term need to protect the ozone layer."

Global programme to tackle marine degradation adopted

The international community took a major step towards enhancing the health and economic well-being of the more than 3.5 billion people who live at or near coastal areas by adopting on 3 November the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities.

Adopted by 110 Governments at the end of a two-week intergovernmental conference organized by UNEP and hosted by the United States Government in Washington D.C., the Programme aims to prevent further degradation of the global marine environment and will help States take practical actions to maintain and improve the productive capacity of the marine environment, ensure the protection of human health and promote the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

Nearly 80 per cent of all marine pollution is caused by various human activities on land. Population densities, industrial growth, tourism development and the siting of transportation and trade centres have had adverse effects on a variety of coastal ecosystems--salt marshes, mangrove forests, coastal wetlands, estuaries and coral reefs.

The Programme identified the ecosystems under particular threat and recommended specific remedial action at all levels.

At the international level, action was called for in two priority areas--the development of a global, legally binding instrument on persistent organic pollutants, and plans to deal with the inadequate treatment of waste water or sewage.

Global Biodiversity Assessment report released

The first Global Biodiversity Assessment report, released on 14 November by UNEP, has concluded that the Earth's biological resources are under serious threat. The damage being done today--largely as a result of human activities--would limit the range of options that people will have in the future. Little progress had also been made in establishing the scientific foundations to conserve and benefit from biological diversity and its components.

The 1.140-page report is the most comprehensive analysis of the science of biological diversity ever attempted. Funded by the Global Environment Facility and UNEP, the independent and peer-reviewed assessment is the work of over 1,500 scientists and experts from all parts of the world.

In contrast to the climate change and ozone layer treaties, the biodiversity treaty was not preceded by a comprehensive scientific assessment, partly because the field of biological diversity is very complex and because biodiversity researchers and observation systems are much more decentralized and location specific.

The Assessment focused on evaluating the scientific understanding of biodiversity's various components--ecosystems, species and genes--and on identifying gaps in the knowledge base that should be targetted for future research.

While great advances had been made in recent years, scientists still had only a very incomplete understanding of the Earth's biological diversity, the report stated. Gaps in data were enormous and estimates could sometimes differ by orders of magnitude.

The Assessment found that ecosystems of all kinds were under pressure worldwide. Coastal and lowland areas, wetlands, native grasslands and many types of forests and woodlands had been particularly affected or destroyed. In the early to mid-1980s, humid tropical forests had been losing nearly 25 million acres annually, or just under 1 per cent globally. Dry tropical forests might have lost even more area, and 10 per cent of the 232,000 square miles of coral reefs in the world had already been eroded beyond recovery.

The report estimated that only 13 per cent of the 13-14 million species on Earth had been scientifically described. It also noted that some 26,000 plant species and 5,400 animal species that had been recorded as threatened with extinction were far from the real total. Flowering plants and vertebrate animals had recently become extinct at over 50 to 100 times the average expected natural rate.

The report concluded that biodiversity management must go far beyond simply establishing isolated nature reserves or setting up agricultural seed banks. Instead, it must be fully integrated into all aspects of landscape management, including agriculture, socio-economics and other relevant fields.

Many animal breeds at risk of extinction

A projected 1,200 to 1,500 of the world's 4,000 to 5,000 domestic animal genetic resources were at risk of loss, according to a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). The study--the World Watch List for Domestic Animal Diversity--found that many of the world's farm animal breeds were disappearing at an alarming rate and that globally the state of animal genetic resources was worsening.

Of the 3,882 breeds of 28 species in FAO's global databank, 873 breeds were at risk, the study found. The 638 most endangered breeds were in Europe, where 43 per cent of all breeds were threatened. In Asia, which contained at least 25 per cent of the world's animal genetic resources, 97 breeds were at high risk, according to the report.

Breeds are lost when there are no market incentives to use local breeds, according to Keith Hammond, an FAO expert on animal genetics. Sustainable, well-managed utilization of animals in their environment was likely to be the most cost-effective means of maintaining genetic resources for the future.

Grim environmental forecast for Asia-Pacific region

On 28 November, 40 Asia-Pacific States concluded their 1995 Ministerial Conference on Environment and Development in Bangkok, with the recognition that, despite modest gains in improving the environment, there were still "tremendous obstacles to overcome before the whole region is joined in the battle to change the grim environmental forecast for the near future".

The 1995 Report on the State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific had warned that an ecological disaster would be brought about by an expected doubling of the region's population by the year 2040.

Under the terms of a Declaration adopted by the Ministers, States agreed to strengthen the institutional framework and provide adequate finances for the implementation of the Regional Action Programme for Environmentally Sound and Sustainable Development for 1996-2001. They also urged States involved in nuclear testing to note their strong concern over the impact of nuclear testing on the environment, cease such activity and conclude a comprehensive test-ban treaty in 1996.